


We're Rolling With The Thunder

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: webseries au [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Sorry Not Sorry, Webseries AU, also still basically one sided pining at this point, honestly this is just a ridiculous amount of fluff, the fitzward is very very lowkey, they're all cinnamon rolls, too good and pure for me to handle, youtubers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 15:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7981387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma had been taking care of Leo for a month after he’d gotten home from his stay in the hospital, and she had earned a nice night out. The fact that she had a date just made it that much easier to argue a few free hours.</p>
<p>takes place the same night as <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6651550">And I Will Make It Through This Night Alive</a>, but can be read first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're Rolling With The Thunder

          “Are you sure you’re alright spending the evening here alone?”

          “Jemma.” She turned around to face her roommate with a small frown, making silent note of his annoyed expression and the laptop perched on his knees. It made perfect sense that Leo was in comfortable clothes and settled on the couch, presumably for the night – he wasn’t the on who was thinking about cancelling the first date he’d had in over a year just because he was worried about his friend. “I am g-going to be j-just… just f-f… _peachy_. If I r- _really_  need an-a-anything, I can… down the… _Grant_.”

          Letting out a sigh, she tried to ignore just how right he was, pacing around their small apartment with a frown. it wasn’t like she was _looking_  for an excuse to stay in for the night, but she was certainly nervous about going out on a date after so long – so much of her routine had become making sure Leo was okay after all that had happened, and breaking from it was harder than she’d anticipated. unfortunately, he was right, and he was a grown adult, and Grant was right down the hall if anything went wrong, and Jemma had no reason to cancel her plans except for her own out of control nerves.

          After a few more laps around the couch, she dropped down onto the cushions with a short huff. her response all but disregarded everything he said, but that didn't have to be acknowledged. "Because, if you're not comfortable being alone for the night, I can-"

          "Jemma." If his annoyance hadn't been clear before, she would have been fully aware of it just based on his tone, then. Treating him like a child had never been her intention, but she'd been told more than once that she'd been doing exactly that for weeks - in that exact same tone. " _Go._ "

          Sighing again, Jemma shook her head with a frown before standing and looking down at him. She  _did_ want to have a nice night out, and if her roommate was going to  _insist,_ then she was definitely allowed to go out on a date. Besides, it was just for one night out, and she really wouldn't be leaving him alone for very long. She'd earned this, and a few hours out would be good for her, even if she was still a bit hesitant. That had to be normal. People got nervous before dates, that was something entirely normal and human that she could deal with for the night. it wasn't like she'd had a lot of dating practice as of late. She had every right to be a little stressed out before she left.

          With another sigh, she pulled her legs up onto the couch cushions and turned to look over at her best friend in the world. He'd been with her since the year she'd come over to live in America, and the past few months had been almost entirely devoted to making sure he was okay, but he'd insisted that she take the night for herself - so she was going to do exactly that. "I've only known him for a few weeks, and I haven't even seen him since that conference; what if he meets with me in a romantic setting and decides he doesn't like me that way?"

          The panic in her voice was enough to make Leo turn his head to look over at her, clearly tired of how much he was being dragged into her getting ready, which made sense after how they'd spent the last few hours. After a moment, he let out a slow breath and turned back to his laptop to type something into a word document before turning the screen so that she could see the words there.

_If he doesn't like you, it's his loss. If things go badly, you can come home early and we'll watch some movies and eat ice cream.  
~ L_

         At the sight of the unnecessary signature, she actually let out a short laugh, shaking her head at him. It didn't do much to reassure her when it came to whether or not Will would like her company, but it was nice to know that she had a back up plan in the worst case scenario. Still shaking her head, Jemma got to her feet with a small smile. "Thank you, Leo, really, but unfortunately, that doesn't do much for my nerves." At the the first sign of his disappointment, she leaded down to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'll just be right down the hall, okay? I'm going to talk to Grant for a bit before I leave."

          While he still didn't seem entirely happy with himself, she left Leo to his Netflix browsing so that she could step out of the apartment, walking the short distance to the next door down and taking a deep breath. They'd known Grant for almost a year and a half, and he was their closest friend, but, at least to Jemma, he always seemed to be closer to Leo - which made her just a bit hesitant to knock on his door for a quick chat an hour before she had to leave for a date.

          After a long moment, she was able to make herself reach out and knock on the door, taking a slow, somewhat unsteady breath of air in the moments before it swung open. Grant was the one to answer, of course, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, clearly prepared to stay in for the night in case he was needed. It was nice of him to do, but she knew that they both wished he didn't have to.

          "Hey." She didn't realize how quiet the hallway was until he spoke, watching her with clear concern. "If you're coming over here to remind me who I'm responsible for tonight, there's no need. I have all of his favorite snacks stocked up, and I found like four monkey documentaries, just in case. You can go have a nice night with that boyfriend of yours without any worries." It was obvious that he was trying to make his smile reassuring, that he was putting effort into making sure she was comfortable with the idea of leaving the apartment for a few hours.

          It didn't help much, but the thought was nice.

          Jemma shook her head quickly, not even thinking about what she was doing before slipping past him to enter his apartment and stride over to the couch. With how her night was going already, she wanted ten minutes to focus on her date related nerves, instead of the ones related to leaving Leo for a little while. "Fitz of all, Will Daniels is not my boyfriend. He's just a friend who I happen to be spending time with in a romantic setting tonight. Before you ask,  _yes,_ it's a date, but that doesn't mean that we're  _dating._ " While she'd been rambling her way through a freak out, Grant had walked over to sit down on the cushions next to her, his previously concerned expression now far more obvious while she stared at him silently for a long moment. "Does it?"

          With a sigh, he gave her a pitying look before holding his arms open to welcome her closer. Anyone who knew Grant Ward knew that he wasn't the biggest advocate for physical contact of any kind, that he merely tolerated things like hugs and being used as a human pillow for the sake of his much more tactile friends. The fact that, over the last few months, he'd been initiating most touch with Leo and even welcoming the numerous group hugs he usually grumbled about, was a big step forward, but they were both all too aware of the reasons for that. Even while she leaned into his side, Jemma couldn't help but let her mind drift to the Scotsman in the apartment next door.

          "Do you think Leo would care if Will and I were dating?"

          A scoff came from the large American next to her, and, in a matter of seconds, she was being hugged close to his chest. It was the most comfortable she'd been all night, and while Leo's offer to spend the night with her, eating ice cream and watching movies, was kind and not a terrible idea, the other potential option, staying curled up and warm on Grant's couch, was just so much more appealing. "Is him caring a factor in whether or not you go on this date tonight?"

          There was no hesitation before she shook her head, frowning a bit at the answer she gave. Did she care about the effects her life and her choices had on Leo? Of course. But was she going to change how she interacted with someone just because of one other person's opinion? Not necessarily. Besides, he'd already made it clear that he  _didn't_ care about how she conducted her romantic life. "He's never met Will. There would be no basis to his opinion besides brain chemistry, and that isn't always reliable."

          Grant scoffed again, squeezing his arms around her in a makeshift hug to accompany the fond sound. Suddenly, she was aware of how well they knew each other, of how different his answer would be to the exact same thing. They both cared about Leo tremendously, and the accident only made them realize how much, and in what way. It made things a bit awkward for a while, and they butted heads from time to time, but if Grant could go about his life  _and_ worry about what their friend thought, then how hard could her evening really be?

          "Thank you." Jemma pat his chest while extracting herself from his arms with a small smile. "I have to go finish getting ready. Try to keep the pining to a minimum while I'm gone."

          "Hey!" She was all but grinning while backing toward the door, meeting his gaze over the back of the couch. Feelings weren't something they acknowledged often, and based on the response he gave to her teasing, he wanted to keep it that way. "Don't forget to bring a jacket or something. It's supposed to rain tonight."

* * *

 

          The warning was the biggest understatement she'd ever heard.

          Things had been going so great during dinner - Will had been interested, or at least  _seemed_ like he was interested in the projects she rattled on about, and he certainly talked enough about his own projects at work that her mind was successfully distracted from anything that could be going on at the apartment. It took until dessert came out to the table for Jemma to realize how much time had passed. They'd been so caught up in talking and sipping their wine to notice how dark it was just out the window next to them. That is, until the only light in the restaurant was coming from the candles on every table when the lights overhead flickered out.

          Jemma knew that the weather was supposed to be less than ideal, but she wasn't expecting it to be quite this bad. For the time being, she was stuck in a romantic setting with someone that, for the past two and a half hours, had been chatting with her as if they were simply partners in the lab. Maybe  _stuck_ wasn't the right word, at least from her end of it - she could spend three more hours at that table without any complaints. Will, on the other hand, was laughing a bit nervously, his gaze suddenly extremely focused on the half eaten slice of cheesecake in front of him.

          "I swear, I didn't plan this."

          His words actually brought out a short laugh from her, and Jemma had to lift the cloth napkin from her lap so that it wouldn't be at an inappropriate volume. Even after the night had taken a terrible turn, she was still unbelievably  _happy,_ and there was no decent explanation for it. In all honesty, she hadn't been this happy and content since long before Leo's accident. She didn't even know it was  _possible_ to be so happy.

          "I didn't think you did." Shaking her head again, Jemma ignored the lack of proper lighting for the time being, fully aware that she'd have to acknowledge it at some point - but why did she have to do that just yet? "I've never met someone so impressive that they could control the weather. Besides, that's not even humanly possible." The scoff from across the table made her frown, narrowing her eyes over at him. "What?"

          Will shook his head, taking a short sip of wine before actually looking over at her again, making a point to meet her gaze in the dim light. "Well, first of all, just being a biologist doesn't mean you know  _everything_ the human body is capable of."

          "Actually, I-"

          " _Second of all,_ what makes you think I'm even entirely human? I mean, I spent over a year in space, remember? For all you know, that could have changed my DNA make up. What if I'm part alien and I have magical powers that let me control the weather?"

          It was Jemma's turn to scoff, shaking her head while pointedly dropping the napkin onto the surface of the table. " _Actually,_ I'm a biochemist, so I know  _more_ than just your run of the mill biologist. And just  _being in space_ wouldn't affect you like that. Especially not if you were there for only fourteen months." She was fully aware of his gaze on her while she sipped at her wine, a small smirk pulling at the corners of her lips while she set the glass down again. "If you'd been there for fourteen  _years,_ however, well, that would be an entirely different conversation."

          His amused smile was the last thing she registered before the sound of thunder shook the windows, making her, and almost everyone else in the restaurant, scream with surprise. If the storm was going to get much worse, they would need to move somewhere safer - somewhere that wasn't right by a window. Of course, the most obvious solution to that would be to go home, but  _home_ was on the other side of town, and she wasn't about to make her date risk that drive, not if the weather really  _was_ going to get worse.

          Seeming to read her mind, Will didn't hesitate before dropping enough money on the table to pay for their meal and rising to his feet. "I live only a few blocks from here. We can wait out the storm there and then I can give you a ride home. You can even call that roommate of yours once we're safe and dry again."

          She was nodding even before she was on her feet and standing next to him, her jacket already mostly on her shoulders. There would likely still be no power, but she had her cell phone on her, and that was really all she needed if she wanted to let Leo know she would be home late. "That sounds perfect."

* * *

 

          Jemma let out a sound of distress when she got no answer for the fourth time, biting her lip while staring down at her phone and dialing the number again. She'd been on Will's couch for all of ten minutes and she was already stressed and worried. Weren't those feelings supposed to be reserved for the morning  _after_ staying with a date? Then again, the feelings had nothing to do with her romantic life, either. "Shouldn't he have answered by now? Something must have happened or he would be  _answering._ "

          When she moved to dial the number again, she frowned when the phone was taken from her hand instead, entirely ready to argue until she heard the reasoning. " _Or,_ the power outage hit them, too, and his phone, died, and he can't charge it again. Jemma, not everything is an emergency." It was clear that he was trying to reassure her, and she hated that it made sense, but something on her face must have made it clear that it wasn't helping much. "Or he's already asleep, or he left his phone in the apartment - didn't you say he might go over to a neighbor's? Deep breaths, Jemma, there's a ninety percent chance there's nothing for you to worry about."

          "But it's the other  _ten_ that I'm thinking about. He hasn't been the same since what happened. What if he's scared?"

          " _Jemma._ " It was his tone that made her pause. He wasn't yelling or demanding that she stop worrying so much; he was actually  _quieter_ than before, and he sounded so concerned. It was sweet, and that wasn't something she was used to, living in the same space as Grant and Leo. "Even if something  _did_ happen, we'd have heard about it. You know your neighbors, one of them would have called or texted if something went wrong. I'm sure your friend is just fine, or, if he is scared, he's with someone who can help."

          She managed to let out a slow, somewhat unsteady breath while nodding her head. Will was entirely right, and worrying would be pointless, any way - it wasn't like she could do much to help from her date's couch. "Right. You're right. I'm just worried because I can't be there, but as soon as I'm home, I'll know everything is okay." Offering up a shaky smile, Jemma reached over to give his hand a light squeeze. "Thank you, and I'm sorry the night is going so horribly."

          When he laughed, she smiled wider, already starting to relax. "What do you mean? This is the best date I've been on in years - I even got this really pretty girl to come back to my apartment. She's brilliant, too, has two doctorates. That's two more than I have." They were both laughing by then, and it took a few moments for the sound to fade out. As soon as it did, Will squeezed her hand before getting up, his reassuring smile much wider than before. "I'll get us something to drink while everything in the fridge is still at least kind of cold. Maybe we can be bad - I have some grenadine in a cabinet if you want to get really wild."

* * *

 

          The storm lasted far longer than either of them expected it to. Rain was still drizzling outside the next morning when they woke up, curled up with Will's portable DVD player perched at the end of the bed, the main menu for some old Disney movie playing on a loop. If she remembered correctly, Jemma was able to keep herself awake until nearly two in the morning, but was awake again by eight when the man in bed next to her got up to make coffee. The power had come back on some time while they slept, which made it conveniently possible for them to suck down unhealthy amounts of hot caffeine before he drover her home.

          As soon as she reached the right flood, the biochemist bypassed her own apartment in favor of the next door down. She tried to keep from knocking too frantically on Grant's door, though she figured it wouldn't have been too uncalled for with how long it took him to answer the door.

          He was still clearly groggy, using the door frame just to keep himself on his feet, but she didn't have the chance to apologize for waking him before she was waved inside. "Bedroom. Leo's there." The door was locked behind them again while she followed him down the short hallway, watching with a small, amused smile while he dropped down onto the bed and was immediately used as a human pillow. If Jemma had thought he was tired before, it was made clear by his sleepy response, his words obviously unfiltered. "Monkey,  _no._ "

          She had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from laughing, quietly sliding her phone from her purse so that she could take a picture of the scene before interrupting - probably a bit louder than necessary. "Aren't you so sweet? I'm sure this will look lovely on a Christmas card." Her smile grew into a grin when they both groaned, and she dropped onto the bed next to them. "Oh, don't be that way - Phil might even put it on the wall in his office."

          Their next groan made her giggle, the sound cut off when Leo waved his hand in her general direction and Grant spoke the words they were both thinking. "Can't you just tell us about your date like a normal girl?"

          A hum of agreement came from the Scotsman on the other side of him and Jemma rolled her eyes, still plainly grinning. "Why would I gush about my date when I can gush about my two favorite boys right next to me?" They groaned again, but the sound was easily drowned out by the sound of her returning laughter.


End file.
